Communication system for hearing-impaired persons comprising speech to text conversion terminal

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] The present invention relates to telephony services for hearing-impaired individuals, but more specifically to an automated speech-to-text encoding/decoding method and apparatus for use in a data communication network.

[0002] Hearing impaired inconveniences individuals encounter when using a telephone or other voice communication device. These individuals require special equipment, such as an electronic Teletype device, so that they may read whatever is being "said" by a party at the other end of a call. Alternatively, hearing-impaired individuals may use a third-party telecommunication relay service (TRS) offered by the service provider which, under the American Disabilities Act, must provide this service if requested by the hearing-impaired individual. TRS services require a live operator who uses a Teletype machine to transcribe speech into text, and perhaps also to transcribe text into speech. To access a TRS service, the hearing-impaired individual dials a special TRS telephone number to establish a connection with the TRS operator. When initially contacted to place a call, the operator will complete the second leg of the call to the called party. An impaired or non-impaired person may initiate the call to an impaired or non-impaired individual by calling a TRS operator.

[0003] In addition to being cumbersome, the aforementioned procedures require that the calling party know in advance whether the called party is impaired.

[0004] Moreover, these types of services do not provide the hearing impaired individual with transparent, unimpaired telephone service. In addition, the service provider must bear the cost of providing TRS services.

[0005] WO 02/03693 A, entitled "Advanced Set Top Terminal Having a Video Call Feature" by Asmussen, discloses a set top converter box or terminal for an interactive cable television program delivery system. The set top features the capability to send and receive video calls through the set top terminal equipped with a camera and microphone. In response to a video call, message, web page, or other triggering event, the system automatically pauses the video program and displays indication of the call on the television monitor.
WO 01/16940 A, entitled "System, Method, and Article of Manufacture for a Voice Recognition System for Identity Authentication in Order to Gain Access to Data on the Internet" by St. John, discloses a system that provides an additional layer of security in secure web sites. In the disclosed system, in addition to the traditional verification methods, a user requesting access to a web site is prompted to provide a voice sample prior to being granted access to a secure web page. The voice sample provided to the party requesting access is compared to a previously collected voice sample that is stored with the authorized user's registration information. If the samples do not match, access to the web site is denied.
EP 0,856,976 A, entitled "Communication System For Hearing-Impaired People, Telephone, and Method For Using Such A System" by Naumburger, discloses a system having a speech recognition unit which converts the signals received via the telephone network into a computer readable code. It specifically converts speech signals into the corresponding ASCII text. The resulting code or ASCII text is displayed as text on a monitor. The speech recognition unit has a memory in which announcement text can be stored. The received signals can be temporarily stored in this memory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention addresses the aforementioned problems by assisting the communication needs of hearing-impaired subscribers and is particularly suited for use in almost any type of network, such as a packet data network (Internet Protocol (IP), circuit-switched, or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) that offers VoIP (Voice over IP) services. Such networks and/or associated terminal devices possess specific hardware and software elements that may be configured to implement features of the present invention without substantial additional costs. The invention may also be implemented in an end-to-end public-switched telephone network (PSTN), digital subscriber line (DSL), or other routing or circuit-switched network.

[0007] The invention provides a speech-to-text translation device, a method of providing automated speech-to-text translation and a computer-readable medium, as set out in the accompanying claims.

[0008] Other features, aspects and advantages will become apparent upon review of the following drawings taken in connection with the accompanying description. The invention, though, is pointed out with particularity by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] 

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a telecommunication relay service system in accordance with prior art.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a system diagram in accordance with a more detailed aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates one manner of speaker identification according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates another manner of speaker identification according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows textual feedback on a monitor resulting from action taken by a subscriber according to a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates display of status information on a monitor according to another feature of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0010] In an illustrative embodiment, the invention extends existing VoIP (Voice over IP) services to hearing-impaired individuals. Speech-to-text translation methods and apparatuses described herein may be performed by or provided in the network itself, or in terminal-based customer premises equipment (CPE) of a hearing-impaired individual.

[0011] Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional telecommunications relay service (TRS) used in a public switched network (PSN) 42 in which a hearing-impaired individual, i.e., a calling party, uses a text telephone (TT) 40 to establish a connection 41 over PSN 42 with a non-impaired individual in a communication relay session via a live communications assistant (CA) or TRS operator 43 located at a service center 44. Operator 43 provides a "relay" service and employs a compatible text telephone 45. The text telephones may comprise a personal computer, a data terminal, an ASCRII-based Teletype device, a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), a TTY, and/or other means for generating and receiving text communications. Operator 43 ascertains with whom the hearing-impaired person desires to communicate, i.e., the called party, and thereafter establishes a voice connection 46 to establish a link between the operator's voice telephone 47 and the voice telephone 48 of the desired party. Communication proceeds by alternating between text communication and voice communication, as explained below.

[0012] In text communication, the hearing-impaired individual supplies text message segments to text telephone 40. The hearing-impaired individual completes each message segment by supplying an end-of-message code word, such as "GA," which means "go ahead," indicating that he or she has completed their message. The text message segments appear at text telephone 45 of the operator 43 who reads and then speaks messages into the operator's voice telephone 47, thereby relaying the messages so that the text messages supplied by the hearing-impaired individual are heard on the desired party's voice telephone 48.

[0013] When the non-impaired individual receiving the call hears the end of the message code word, he or she begins to speak into his or her voice telephone 48. Operator 43 hears, via the operator's voice telephone 47, that which is spoken by the non-impaired individual, and then transcribes and supplies the message to the operator's text telephone 45 for transmission to the first text telephone 40 of the hearing-impaired individual. When the non-impaired person finishes speaking, he or she says an end-of-message code word, e.g., "go ahead." When the hearing-impaired person reads the message at his or her text telephone 40, as transcribed by operator 43, he or she may enter a new message, or send an appropriate message such as "SK" to indicate the end of the relay session.

[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates an environment in which an embodiment of the present invention may be used to eliminate the cumbersome "relay" service described above. Other environments or architectures may be provided according to the methods and/or apparatuses described herein. The illustrated environment includes an IP network 51 that carries Internet traffic and a PSTN network 53 which carries telephone circuits. Cable modem 57 (or similar data terminal device) located at a first terminal end 58 of the network conveys data packets to and from IP network 51. Cable modem 57 (or similar data terminal device) located at a second terminal end 60 of the network similarly conveys data packets to and from the IP network 51. A third terminal end 59 of the network terminates at a conventional telephone 62, which is connected with PSTN 53 and which transfers information to and from the telephone. PSTN 53 and IP network 51 intercommunicate via conventional gateways and interfaces as known in the art. Either impaired or non-impaired individuals, as subsequently explained, may use the first and second terminal ends 58 and 60 of the network while the third terminal end 59 is suited for a non-impaired individual.

[0015] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, terminal end 58 located at the premises of a hearing-impaired subscriber includes a broadband terminal characterized by a multimedia terminal adapter (MTA) 50 that is also known as a broadband telephony interface (BTI). MTA 50 communicates with IP network 51 via cable modem 57. MTA 50 also has a display interface to enable visual display of text information on monitor 61 using conventional device drivers, as well as a telephone interface to link with a conventional telephone 62. By way of link 54, MTA 50 connects with a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) converter box 57 which, in turn, communicates with IP network 51 via an HFC network under established protocols, e.g., MCNS DOSCIS standards. Network interfacing of MTA 50 may also occur directly with network 51 when cable modem functionality is integrated with MTA 50. An HFC network is mentioned here only for illustrative purposes, and is not meant to limit the invention to such network.

[0016] A similar arrangement is provided at terminal end 60 of the network that may be located at the premises of a hearing-impaired or non-impaired individual. In the case where two hearing-impaired subscribers desire to talk to each other, a communication link is established between respective MTAs 50 at terminal ends 58 and 60. A non-impaired subscriber using a conventional telephone 62 located at terminal ends 59 or 60 may also communicate with a hearing impaired subscriber located at terminal end 58.

[0017] Fig. 3 depicts an exemplary MTA 50 in greater detail. MTA 50 includes functional components of a personal computer (PC), namely a processor 70 with buffers, registers, and random access memory, as well as a mass storage or memory device 90, such as a flash RAM, magnetic storage drive, or CDROM. Processor 70 preferably includes executable code that enables conversion of speech to text, and vice-versa, as well as encoding and decoding of IP packets conveyed over the IP network. The processor also utilizes speech data buffers typically implemented by RAM and performs the function of a tonal and inflection analyzer. Software executed by processor 70 may be downloaded from the network to which MTA 50 is connected, stored in a memory, and then executed from memory. Alternatively, certain processor functions may be implemented in hardware or firmware. Speech buffers within the processor 70, typically implemented by RAM, temporarily store speech data packets during speech processing. Processor 70 may perform the operations of a digital speech processor, or such a device (i.e., a commercially available CODEC (coder-decoder)) may be separately provided and interfaced with the processor 70 to encode/decode speech data packets.

[0018] MTA 50 also includes an analog (or digital) telephone interface 63 that interfaces with a conventional analog (or digital) telephone 62 and a television (or other conventional monitor) interface 57 employing, for example, NTSC, HDTV or other standards. The interface 57 conveys textual information to a monitor 61 using a standard format, i.e., it may perform or assist in performing the function of converting a television to a display device at the direction of a processor that controls MTA 50. Like many processing devices, a central bus 71 provides an information transfer path among various units within MTA 50.

[0019] As speech data is received from the network via cable modem interface 94, it is placed in a buffer of processor 70 on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis. When receiving speech data from the network, speech data in the buffer is automatically decoded by processor 70 to display textual information of spoken words, and optionally to add punctuation, exclamation, emphasis, highlighting, or other attributes of the speech. The size of the buffer in processor 70 may be fixed or variable according to needs of the system, e.g., processor speed, or the needs of hearing-impaired individuals, e.g., voice pattern identification, punctuation, text display rate, etc. Buffer size may be increased or decreased dynamically in accordance with encoding/decoding loading of the processor, or the subscriber may manually set or adjust the size of the buffer.

[0020] Thus, when used by a hearing-impaired subscriber located at terminal end 58 (Fig. 2), for example, and after a telephone link is established with another party, each word spoken by that other party is conveniently displayed on monitor 61 located in the subscriber's premises. Speech-to-text translation may be performed between two hearing-impaired subscribers located, for example, at terminal stations 58 and 60 (Fig. 2), or between a hearing-impaired subscriber and a non-impaired subscriber respectively located at terminal stations 58 and 59 (Fig. 2).

[0021] Processor 70, which performs speech/text CQDEC functions, converts representations of voice signals received from user telephone 62 to a digital format and then transmits the resulting digital data to cable modem interface 94 and ultimately to cable modem 57 (Fig. 2) for conveyance over IP network 51. To convert spoken words sent from a remote station, e.g., terminal end 59, for display on a local monitor 61, processor 70 captures digital voice data packets on the data bus 71 (which were sent from a remote subscriber terminal), converts the digital voice signals to analog, and then encodes the analog voice to text for display on TV monitor 61. A hearing-impaired subscriber may then read the displayed message.

[0022] In one implementation, processor 70 receives packets that contain about ten to twenty milliseconds of speech data. As speech packets are received, they are routed to the processor's buffer and stored in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) order. By increasing the buffer size, speech-to-text processor 70 may "look-ahead" for various speech inflections or patterns. This enables the addition of punctuation, corrections or modifications to be made to the speech before being displayed on monitor 61 (Fig. 2). By way of an example, a brief but sustained period of silence allows processor 70 to infer the proper position of a period. A longer period of silence allows the processor to identify the beginning of a new paragraph. "Looking ahead," however, need not be the normal operating mode because the additional buffering and processing load may induce delay in the textual display function. This may depend on the speed and power of processor 70. More importantly, any delay may impact non-impaired subscribers because they must wait longer for a reply.

[0023] MTA 50 may also be programmed by the subscriber to respond to indications of a user, such as dual-tone multiple-frequency (DTMF) digits, via a controller (shown as DTMF decoder 80 for illustrative purposes only) to activate or deactivate the functionality desired by the subscriber. A keypad or keyboard for entering DTMF tones may be incorporated in MTA 50, or the keypad of an existing telephone may be detected in order to implement operating mode changes of MTA 50. Non-impaired persons may, for example, disable these functions when they use telephone 62. In effect, controller 80 (which, by the way, may also be implemented by processor 70) effects turn-on and turn-off of certain functionality in response to DTMF tones input by a subscriber so that, for example, telephone 62 (Fig. 2) may be used normally, e.g., without speech-to-text encoding, or to place the MTA apparatus in a "hearing-impaired" mode of operation where speech-to-text encoding takes place. Processor 70 may also be programmed to respond to respective unique DTMF tones to enable, disable, or adjust the period of a "look ahead" speech analysis feature provided by an internal speech buffer; to activate/deactivate an internal tonal and inflection analyzer; to increase or decrease the size of the speech buffer; to enable/disable speaker recognition capabilities; or to make other mode changes in MTA 50. The buffer may comprise internal memory and the inflection and tonal analyzer may comprise a software module, as known in the art.

[0024] With reference to Fig. 4, processor 70 provides the ability to determine, using speaker or voice pattern recognition, the actual identification (i.e., the name) of a particular speaker. This generally requires that the speaker had previously provided the MTA of the hearing-impaired subscriber with a speech sample, i.e., a prior call, whose characteristics were stored as a reference. The identification, once made, is stored in a voice and speech pattern database of storage device 90 (Fig. 3). Storage of speech samples for later recall is typically accomplished by a series of prompts generated by processor 70. For example, processor 70 may generate prompts on the monitor 61 (Fig. 2) requesting the hearing-impaired subscriber to respond through keypad or keyboard inputs in order to store a speech sample (e.g., voice pattern) in a database of storage device 90 for later recall, and to associate the stored sample with a name or other identification by inputting other information. When the same party later engages in a telephone conversation with the hearing-impaired individual, processor 70 effects visual presentation of the caller's identity on monitor 61 (Fig. 2), as shown in Fig. 4, based upon the previously provided speech sample which, in the illustrated example, is identified as "Mom" and/or "Dad." Processor 70 may also distinguish separate callers on a conference or "extension phone."

[0025] With reference to Fig. 5, processor 70 may separate and identify different speakers' voices based on sex, gender, or other characteristics. For example, text can be labeled as Voice 1: <spoken text> [female] and Voice 2: <spoken text> [male] [laughing], as depicted in Fig. 5. In addition, processor 70 may, without limitation, annotate textual presentations, such as providing an annotation whether the speaker is a male or female voice, child or adult, hard-or soft-spoken, or whether the speaker is laughing, shouting, or other attributes of voice based on known characteristics of speech. To provide feedback of action ordered by the subscriber or action taken by the system, monitor 61 may display certain commands or prompts, as illustrated in Fig. 6, e.g., "DTMF 3 Pressed." In addition, textual presentations associated with commonly used audible signals of the network such as ringing, busy, all circuits busy, misdial warnings, etc., are displayed as exemplified in Fig. 7.

[0026] As previously indicated, the functionality provided by MTA 50 of Fig. 2 may reside at various elements of network 51 or 53, of Fig. 2 as opposed to being resident in MTA 50 located at a subscriber's premises. Having some of the functionality reside in the network of an existing network may benefit deployment of the inventive methods and apparatuses, and also may enable providing a service offering to hearing-impaired individuals not having ready access to an MTA 50.

[0027] When implemented in a network, aspects of the present invention may additionally support language translation at each end of a call when there is interaction with network elements performing such functions through, for example, common gate interchange (CGI) protocols. Furthermore, tonal inflections are easier for a mechanical translator to add, symbolically, in text form than in a direct verbal translation using synthetic voice. A conventional language database can be available as a download from the network and stored on the voice and speech pattern database 90.

[0028] The invention advantageously allows a subscriber to remotely "bridge" to a home unit (e.g., via wireless phone) and obtain transcription capability for a call. The transcription capability may be used for other business services (e.g., e-commerce). If combined with a PC, the present invention allows a subscriber to create his or her own voice-to-email application.

[0029] If two or more speakers simultaneously confer, the speech-to-text processor 70 (indicated in Fig. 3 as a digital signal processor) indicates in real time on monitor 61 which speaker is speaking using voice recognition data from the voice and speech pattern database 90 (indicated in Fig. 3 as "mass storage"). Whenever the database 90 has identified a speaker, based on speech samples previously analyzed by MTA 50, it displays the name of the speaker along with their associated text on monitor 61.

[0030] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of methods and apparatuses of the invention. Based on the teachings herein, various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art and therefore fall within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A speech-to-text device (50) for use in a network that includes a modem (57) to communicate with the network, said device comprising:

an interface (94) that enables communication with the modem (57), a display interface (56) that communicates with a visual display device (61) to display information, a telephone interface (63) that enables communication with a telephone (62) to convey voice information of a user, and characterised by further comprising:

a processor (70) adapted to decode the user voice information received from the network (51) and adapted to display the user voice information as text on the display device (61), the processor analyzing tone and inflections within speech segments of the voice information to modify the text by adding punctuation.

2. The speech-to-text translation device as recited in claim 1, wherein said tonal and inflection analyzer is adapted to detect a variation in at least one of tone, volume, and inflection to modify said text.

3. The speech-to-text translation device as recited in claim 1, further including a storage device (91) that stores voice patterns of a prior caller and said processor includes a speech analyzer that recognizes an incoming voice pattern based on information stored in said storage device (91) and effects a display of an identity of said prior caller on said display device.

4. The speech-to-text translation device as recited in claim 1, wherein said processor includes a detector that is adapted to respond to subscriber inputs to activate and deactivate said tonal and inflection analyzer.

5. The speech-to-text translation device as recited in claim 4, wherein said detector comprises a DTMF tone detector and said user inputs comprise DTMF tones of a telephone.

6. The speech-to-text translation device as recited in claim 1, wherein said tonal and inflection analyzer of said processor is adapted to analyze exclamatory characteristics of said speech that includes at least one of gender, soft-spoken words, hard-spoken words, shouting, laughter, and human expression and said processor effects visual modification of said text on said display device to denote said exclamatory characteristics.

7. A method of providing automated speech-to-text translation, the method comprising:

receiving speech packets from a network; and

storing the speech packets; and characterised by:

displaying textual representations of said speech packets including punctuation added based on an analysis of tone and inflections associated with said speech packets.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

analyzing characteristics of the stored speech packets to insert punctuation in displayed textual representations of said speech packets.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein said analyzing is based on at least one of changes in tone, volume, or inflection.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

responding to a command from the individual to activate and deactivate said analyzing.

11. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling a computing device to perform the steps:

receiving speech packets from a network; and

storing the speech packets; and characterised by:

displaying textual representations of said speech packets including punctuation added based on an analysis of tone and inflections associated with said speech packets.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions further comprise:

analyzing characteristics of the stored speech packets to insert punctuation in displayed textual representations of said speech packets.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said analyzing is based on at least one of changes in tone, volume, or inflection.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise:

responding to a command from the individual to activate and deactivate said analyzing.

Ansprüche

1. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung (50) zur Verwendung in einem Netzwerk, die ein Modem (57) zur Kommunikation mit dem Netzwerk aufweist, wobei die Vorrichtung umfaßt:

eine Schnittstelle (94), die Kommunikation mit dem Modem (57) ermöglicht, eine Anzeigeschnittstelle (56), die mit einer optischen Anzeigevorrichtung (61) kommuniziert, um Information anzuzeigen, eine Telefonschnittstelle (63), die Kommunikation mit einem Telefon (62) ermöglicht, um Sprachinformation eines Anwenders zu übertragen, und dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß sie ferner umfaßt:

einen Prozessor (70), der dafür eingerichtet ist, die vom Netzwerk (51) empfangene Anwendersprachinformation zu decodieren, und dafür eingerichtet ist, die Anwendersprachinformation als Text auf der Anzeigevorrichtung (61) anzuzeigen, wobei der Prozessor Klang und Tonfalländerungen in Sprachsegmenten der Sprachinformation analysiert, um den Text durch Hinzufügung von Interpunktion zu modifizieren.

2. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Klang- und Tonfallanalysator dafür eingerichtet ist, eine Änderung des Klangs, der Lautstärke und/oder des Tonfalls zu erkennen, um den Text zu modifizieren.

3. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, ferner mit einer Speichervorrichtung (91), die Sprachmuster eines vorherigen Anrufers speichert, und wobei der Prozessor einen Sprachanalysator aufweist, der ein eingehendes Sprachmuster auf der Grundlage der in der Speichervorrichtung (91) gespeicherten Information wiedererkennt und eine Anzeige einer Identität des vorherigen Anrufers auf der Anzeigevorrichtung bewirkt.

4. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Prozessor einen Detektor aufweist, der dafür eingerichtet ist, auf Teilnehmereingaben zu reagieren, um den Klang- und Tonfallanalysator zu aktivieren und zu deaktivieren.

5. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 4, wobei der Detektor einen DTMF-Tondetektor umfaßt und die Anwendereingaben DTMF-Töne eines Telefons umfassen.

6. Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlungsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Klang- und Tonfallanalysator des Prozessors dafür eingerichtet ist, Exklamationscharakteristika der Sprache zu analysieren, die Geschlecht, sanft gesprochene Wörter, kräftig gesprochene Wörter, Rufen, Lachen und menschliche Äußerung aufweisen, und der Prozessor eine optische Modifikation des Textes auf der Anzeigevorrichtung bewirkt, um die Exklamationscharakteristika zu bezeichnen.

7. Verfahren zur Bereitstellung einer automatischen Sprache-in-Text-Umwandlung, wobei das Verfahren umfaßt:

Empfangen von Sprachpaketen aus einem Netzwerk; und

Speichern der Sprachpakete; und gekennzeichnet durch:

Anzeigen von Textdarstellungen der Sprachpakete mit Interpunktion, die auf der Grundlage einer Analyse von Klang und Tonfalländerungen, die den Sprachpaketen zugeordnet sind, hinzugefügt ist.

8. Verfahren nach Anspruch 7, ferner umfassend:

Analysieren von Charakteristika der gespeicherten Sprachpakete, um die Interpunktion in die angezeigten Textdarstellungen der Sprachpakete einzufügen.

9. Verfahren nach Anspruch 8, wobei das Analysieren auf mindestens einem beruht, nämlich auf Veränderungen des Klangs, der Läutstärke oder des Tonfalls.

10. Verfahren nach Anspruch 9, ferner umfassend:

Reagieren auf einen Befehl von der Person, um das Analysieren zu aktivieren und zu deaktivieren.

11. Computerlesbares Medium, das Anweisungen zur Steuerung einer Computervorrichtung speichert, um die folgenden Schritte auszuführen:

Empfangen von Sprachpaketen aus einem Netzwerk; und

Speichern der Sprachpakete; und gekennzeichnet durch:

Anzeigen von Textdarstellungen der Sprachpakete mit Interpunktion, die auf der Grundlage einer Analyse von Klang und Tonfalländerungen, die den Sprachpaketen zugeordnet sind, hinzugefügt ist.

12. Computerlesbares Medium nach Anspruch 11, wobei die Anweisungen ferner umfassen:

Analysieren von Charakteristika der gespeicherten Sprachpakete, um die Interpunktion in die angezeigten Textdarstellungen der Sprachpakete einzufügen.

13. Computerlesbares Medium nach Anspruch 12, wobei das Analysieren auf mindestens einem beruht, nämlich auf Veränderungen des Klangs, der Lautstärke oder des Tonfalls.

14. Computerlesbares Medium nach Anspruch 13, wobei die Anweisungen ferner umfassen:

Reagieren auf einen Befehl von der Person, um das Analysieren zu aktivieren und zu deaktivieren.

Revendications

1. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte (50) à utiliser dans un réseau qui comporte un modem (57) pour communiquer avec le réseau, ledit dispositif comportant :

une interface (94) qui autorise une communication avec le modem (57), une interface d'affichage (56) qui communique avec un dispositif d'affichage visuel (61) pour afficher des informations, une interface de téléphone (63) qui autorise une communication avec un téléphone (62) afin d'acheminer des informations vocales d'un utilisateur, et caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte en outre :

un processeur (70) apte à décoder les informations vocales d'utilisateur reçues du réseau (51) et apte à afficher les informations vocales d'utilisateur sous la forme d'un texte sur le dispositif d'affichage (61), le processeur analysant des intonations et inflexions dans des segments de parole des informations vocales pour modifier le texte en ajoutant de la ponctuation.

2. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit analyseur d'intonation et d'inflexion est apte à détecter une variation dans l'un des éléments parmi le timbre, le volume et l'inflexion pour modifier ledit texte.

3. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte selon la revendication 1, comportant en outre un dispositif de stockage (91) lequel stocke des modèles vocaux d'un appelant précédent et dans lequel ledit processeur comporte un analyseur vocal qui reconnaît un modèle vocal entrant sur la base d'informations stockées dans ledit dispositif de stockage (91) et exécute un affichage d'une identité dudit appelant précédent sur ledit dispositif d'affichage.

4. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit processeur comporte un détecteur qui est apte à répondre à des entrées d'abonné pour activer et désactiver ledit analyseur d'intonation et d'inflexion.

5. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte selon la revendication 4, dans lequel ledit détecteur comporte un détecteur de tonalité MF et dans lequel lesdites entrées d'utilisateur comportent des tonalités MF d'un téléphone.

6. Dispositif de traduction de la parole en texte selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit analyseur d'intonation et d'inflexion dudit processeur est apte à analyser des caractéristiques d'exclamation de ladite parole qui comporte au moins un genre, des mots prononcés doux, des mots prononcés durs, des cris, des rires et une expression humaine et ledit processeur effectue une modification visuelle dudit texte sur ledit dispositif d'affichage pour indiquer lesdites caractéristiques exclamatoires.

7. Procédé de fourniture d'une traduction automatisée de la parole en texte, le procédé comportant les étapes consistant à :

recevoir des paquets de parole d'un réseau ; et

stocker les paquets de parole ; et caractérisé par l'étape consistant à :

afficher des représentations textuelles desdits paquets de parole comportant une ponctuation ajoutée sur la base d'une analyse d'intonations et d'inflexions associées audit paquets de parole.

8. Procédé selon la revendication 7, comportant en outre l'étape consistant à :

analyser des caractéristiques des paquets de parole stockés afin d'intégrer de la ponctuation dans les représentations textuelles affichées desdits paquets de parole.

9. Procédé selon la revendication 8, dans lequel ladite analyse est basée sur au moins un élément parmi des changements d'intonation, de volume ou d'inflexion.

10. Procédé selon la revendication 9, comportant en outre l'étape consistant à :

répondre à une commande d'un individu destinée à activer et à désactiver ladite analyse.

11. Support lisible par un ordinateur stockant des instructions pour commander un dispositif de calcul informatique afin de mettre en oeuvre les étapes consistant à :

recevoir des paquets de parole d'un réseau ; et

stocker les paquets de parole ; et caractérisé par l'étape consistant à :

afficher des représentations textuelles desdits paquets de parole comportant une ponctuation ajoutée sur la base d'une analyse d'intonations et d'inflexions associées audit paquets de parole.

12. Support lisible par un ordinateur selon la revendication 11, dans lequel les instructions incluent en outre l'étape consistant à :

analyser des caractéristiques des paquets de parole stockés afin d'intégrer de la ponctuation dans les représentations textuelles affichées desdits paquets de parole.

13. Support lisible par un ordinateur selon la revendication 12, dans lequel ladite analyse est basée sur au moins un élément parmi des changements d'intonation, de volume ou d'inflexion.

14. Support lisible par un ordinateur selon la revendication 13, dans lequel les instructions comportent en outre l'étape consistant à :

répondre à une commande d'un individu destinée à activer et à désactiver ladite analyse.

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